Drake Trent: ...

After several rounds of drinks, everyone was clearly in high spirits.

Tate Sherwood brought up the old topic again: his desire for a marriage alliance with the Trent Family.

The Sherwood Clansmen all put down their cups and looked toward Victor Trent.

The Trent Family already had a marriage alliance with the Yamada Clan, one of the Secluded Clans. The child from that union had reached the rank of Martial King at such a young age, a testament to his terrifying aptitude for martial arts.

His future potential was limitless.

If the Sherwood Clan could form a marriage alliance with them, they would surely reach new heights. After all, Veridian factions were the most powerful in Arcadia.

Victor Trent picked up his wine cup and asked nonchalantly, "She isn’t the only young lady from the Sherwood Clan’s core lineage, is she?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

At his words, the Sherwood Clansmen exchanged complicated glances. Tate Sherwood’s face darkened slightly. "Mr. Trent, what is the meaning of this?"

"A few days ago, I met someone who looked very much like Miss Neve. She said her name was Grace Sherwood."

"What—"

The expressions of the Sherwood Clansmen changed drastically. One of them slammed his hand on the table and demanded, "Where is that traitor?"

Victor Trent glanced at the man and said nonchalantly, "She claims she was drugged and abducted..."

"The words of a traitor—"

"Evan, let Mr. Trent finish," a white-haired elder suddenly interjected.

He was seated in a position second only to Tate Sherwood. Once he had spoken, none of the other Sherwood Clansmen dared to utter a word.

Victor Trent set down his cup and sat up straight, his expression serious.

"She was supposed to attend the succession ceremony, but she was drugged. By the time she woke up, she was already on a ship headed out to sea..."

At this, Evan Sherwood grew furious again. "Nonsense! She clearly attended the succession ceremony..."

"Evan—" The white-haired elder’s voice grew stern. He then turned to Victor Trent and asked, "Where is Grace now?"

Victor Trent picked up his cup again and said calmly, "My apologies, Elder. She said someone here wants to harm her. For that reason, I’m afraid I cannot disclose her location."

At his words, the expressions of the Sherwood Clansmen shifted once more.

The white-haired elder contemplated for a moment before an intense Power erupted from his body. "Mr. Trent, you may speak freely. As long as I am here, no one in the Sherwood Clan will dare to harm her, including the Interim Family Head..."

His Power Domain instantly enveloped the entire banquet hall. Tate Sherwood’s face was as black as soot; he clenched his fists, glaring daggers at Victor Trent.

Drake Trent raised a Power Domain of his own, shielding Victor Trent and Aurora Sinclair.

Seeing the Sherwood Clansmen across from him looking pale and trembling, unable to move, Victor Trent simply took out his phone and made a call.

"Bring her over."

Less than half an hour later, a veiled woman arrived at the banquet hall, escorted by Trent Family bodyguards.

"Grace?" the white-haired elder asked.

The woman seemed overcome with emotion. She knelt on the floor, bowed deeply to him, and said through choked sobs, "Mr. Yuri..."

Victor Trent stood, walked over slowly, and gently helped the woman to her feet. "Grace, tell the Elder about the injustices you’ve suffered. Someone here will see that you get justice."

The woman leaned into Victor Trent’s embrace, pointed at Tate Sherwood, and cried out, "He sent men to kill my father! Then he had me drugged, abducted, and put on a ship to be murdered..."

"Utter nonsense—"

Tate Sherwood shot to his feet, his eyes bulging. The table before him shattered, blasted apart by his Power.

The woman cowered in Victor Trent’s arms, trembling.

Victor Trent held her, patting her back gently as if to comfort her. "Don’t be afraid. He won’t dare to hurt you again."

The interaction between the two made Neve Sherwood’s brow furrow. She shot a look of displeasure at Drake Trent, who was seated across from her.

She demanded in a loud voice, "Do you have any proof that my father harmed you?"

The woman took a phone from her pocket and played a recording.

A familiar female voice immediately played from the device: "Greetings, Sherwood Clansmen. I am Janet Sinclair, the one who rescued Grace Sherwood... If you doubt this, you are welcome to come to Veridia and seek verification from me."

The recording was brief and in the Niphorian tongue, which was more than enough for everyone present to understand.

Victor Trent added, "Janet Sinclair is one of the Sinclairs of Veridia, a family affiliated with Veridia’s Morgan Family."

At this revelation, the way the previously neutral Sherwood Clansmen looked at Tate Sherwood began to change.

Neve Sherwood suddenly laughed. "All she did was describe your ordeal. That doesn’t prove my father was the one who harmed you. It could have been another member of the clan."

The woman retorted, "My father had only one child—me. If I had been killed, who would have stood to gain the most by becoming Family Head?"

Neve Sherwood was momentarily at a loss for words.

The woman took a few steps forward. "The recording may not prove your father is the culprit, but it proves my innocence. Therefore, the position of Head of the Sherwood Family should be returned to me."

***

「Late that night.」

Tate Sherwood summoned Neve Sherwood to his room for a private conversation.

"Wasn’t it supposed to be foolproof? How did she come back?"